


What U See (Is What U Get)

by rustytiffany



Series: Oops I Did It Again [6]
Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-20 10:56:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3647733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rustytiffany/pseuds/rustytiffany
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>sixth of twelve standalone fics inspired by Oops!...I Did It Again, the second album of Britney Spears.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What U See (Is What U Get)

_I know you watch me when I'm dancing_  
_When I party with my friends_  
_I can feel your eyes on my back, baby_  
_I can't have no chains around me, baby can't you see_  
_I could be anything you dream of, but I gotta feel free_  
_You should never try to change me_  
_I can be nobody else  
_ _And I like the way I am_

_What you see is what you get_  
_This is me, hey you_  
_If you want me, don't forget_  
_You should take me as I am_  
_Cause I can promise you  
_ _Baby, what you see is what you get_

 

Time seemed to slow down when she entered the building. Heads turned, conversations stopped, people stared. She pretended not to notice all the attention, twirling one of her braided pigtails absentmindedly as she made her way to her locker, but it was a little hard. Usually she was mocked and insulted in the hallways, if not completely ignored; now she was getting wolf whistles and catcalls. Immature and sexist as it may be, it was a welcome change. 

Her new look was inspired by the extremely vivid fantasy she had while sedated at the dentist’s office. She dreamt that she was in the “…Baby One More Time” music video, one of her all-time favorites, complete with the outfits, backup dancers, even the blue convertible. She harbored a not-so-secret crush on Britney Spears, and figured that borrowing Britney’s schoolgirl style was an appropriate way to pay homage to one of her idols. 

Putting the outfit together was surprisingly easy. She already had the necessary components, she just needed to accessorize accordingly. The shoes, knee socks, and skirt weren’t all that different from what she normally wore, and years of sticking to a strict elliptical workout resulted in toned abs that looked amazing under a tied up button-down shirt. All that was left was the gray cardigan and pink bows at the end of her braids, and she was good to go. 

She made it all the way to her locker before he saw her. His eyes grew wide and he started mumbling something that sounded like “mailman” as he grabbed a sweatshirt from his locker and approached her. 

He thrust the sweatshirt at her. “Put this on.” It wasn’t a question or a friendly gesture; it was a command. 

She shook her head. “Thank you, but that isn’t necessary. I’m perfectly comfortable as I am. It’s still quite warm outside, and I fear that I might overheat if I wore that. It was sweet of you to offer, though.” 

His eyes narrowed. “Put. It. On. Now.” 

“No.” 

“God dammit, Rachel. I don’t want my girlfriend walking around looking like some slutty schoolgirl! Put the fucking sweatshirt on and cover up, for christ’s sake.” 

Rachel didn’t react, she just continued organizing the materials she needed for class. When she was finished, she turned and looked up at him calmly. 

“Well then maybe I shouldn’t be your girlfriend. Cause I’m not changing. I’ll see you in glee, Finn. I have to get to class.” 

She brushed past him and headed down the hall to her first period class, leaving the freakishly tall boy holding his sweatshirt and staring dumbfounded at the spot where she’d been standing moments earlier.

\--- 

Finn took his time packing up his bag after glee, stalling until he and Rachel were the only ones left. She didn’t acknowledge him, so he took a deep breath and walked over to where she was looking over the sheet music for the song they were currently working on. 

He didn’t touch her or say anything, he just stood awkwardly hovering over her. After a few minutes she spoke, her eyes never leaving the page on her lap. “Did you want something, or are you just going to stand there and be creepy? Cause I don’t mind, really, if that’s what you want to do, I would just appreciate a little forewarning. And also, could you move to your right slightly? You’re blocking the light.” 

Finn stepped to his left. Rachel rolled her eyes. God he was dumb sometimes. 

“I, um, wanted to apologize. You don’t look like a slutty schoolgirl. You actually look pretty amazing. I was just being stupid and jealous. I didn’t like all those guys checking you out. It’s easier when you look like you normally do, most people don’t notice you. I like it better like that.” Rachel still didn’t look up, but he continued anyway. “So can we, you know, not be broken up anymore? I’m sorry I was a jerk.” 

Rachel sighed and turned to face him. “Finn, if it were just about today, then you would be right. Maybe I did overreact a little breaking up with you over some moronic comment you made, god knows we would have been over a long time ago if I actually did that every time you said something dumb. But it’s bigger than that. Ever since we started dating you’ve been trying to make me into someone who fits your wants and needs, rather than considering what I want or trying to find some kind of compromise. At the pool you didn’t like me laying out in just a bikini, I always had to be covered up. I know you don’t like to dance so I never forced you to accompany me to clubs or join me on the dance floor at parties, but you would get mad if I danced with someone else at a party, or even if I danced by myself and you thought it was too sexy. You allow others to insult my clothes, and occasionally you agree with them. God, Finn, you think I’m a controllist, which, by the way, isn’t even a real word, it’s controlling? Take a look in the mirror. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have dinner plans this evening and I need to complete at least two-thirds of my homework before I start getting ready. I’ll see you around.” 

She stood and brushed past him and walked out of the choir room to the parking lot, leaving the freakishly tall boy holding his backpack and staring dumbfounded at the seat where she’d been sitting moments earlier.

\--- 

A few weeks passed. Rachel and Finn remained broken up, despite Finn’s best efforts to prove to her that he could be a better boyfriend. He tried everything he could think of, from serenading her in glee to quitting the football team and allowing himself to get slushied (he rejoined when it didn’t work) to publicly declaring that anyone who insulted or attempted to slushie Rachel would have to answer to him, but nothing worked. Her intent had never been to change him, she just wanted him to understand that the way he treated her wasn’t fair. Whatever spark they’d had was gone; she would have broken up with him anyway. 

Since her split from Finn Rachel had improved her style, never quite reaching the level of her schoolgirl outfit but dressing better overall, and the slushies stopped, as people began to recognize that she was actually quite attractive and they no longer felt the need to force her to change clothes in the middle of the day. The fact that she had started spending most of her time with Quinn, who had returned in all her HBIC glory, certainly didn’t hurt. After Santana, Quinn was the most feared student at McKinley, and everyone knew better than to mess with her friends. No one understood exactly how or when Quinn and Rachel began hanging out, just that it was right around when Rachel dumped Finn, but no one wanted to be the one to ask. They just accepted it and treated Rachel with the same respect they did the Cheerios, for fear of angering the blonde cheerleader. 

It happened slowly, without anyone really realizing what was going on. When Quinn and Rachel went from being enemies to friends seemingly out of the blue, people started talking, but the hype quickly died down, as no one dared to question Quinn Fabray. When Rachel began sitting at the Cheerios table at lunch some people started whispering, but Quinn simply raised her eyebrow and the conversation stopped. When Rachel started wearing Quinn’s letterman jacket and walked around with their pinkies linked à la Brittany and Santana, a few people looked on suspiciously, but wisely kept their mouths shut.

When Quinn and Rachel got caught skipping class to make out in the second floor girls’ bathroom, a couple people pretended to be shocked, but really, no one was surprised. They all totally saw it coming.

**Author's Note:**

> lyrics from What U See (Is What U Get)


End file.
